DFS Alerts
Jrue Holiday (toe) will play on Monday
Holiday will return to the Pelicans lineup after missing the past two games with a toe issue. Assuming he’s not held to some sort of minutes limit, Holiday is an elite option tonight as he’ll be leaned on heavily to produce on the offensive end. He’s only competing with Toney Douglas and Tim Frazier for playing time, and he’s the far and away the most superior player of that trio. If he can eat up his typical 35-40 mins (sans Davis), he’s going to be a very nice target against a Knicks defense that ranks 20th against PGs and 15th against off-ball guards. Holiday’s presence lessens the appeal of both Douglas and Frazier.
As reported by: Jenniffer Hale Other tagged players: Toney Douglas, Tim Frazier
Terrence Ross (thumb) ruled out
Terrence Ross (thumb) will miss his third consecutive game. Norman Powell is expected to start once again with Ross out of the lineup. Powell has been logging major minutes in back-to-back games and should continue to do so against the Thunder. Powell is still a risky play because of the possibility that the rookie can get into foul trouble guarding Kevin Durant. Powell’s asking price still remains low across the industry, making for a viable tournament option. Powell did not play in the game against the Thunder earlier in the season.
As reported by: Holly Mackenzie Other tagged players: Norman Powell Goran Dragic (illness) ruled out on Monday
Dragic will miss tonight’s game against the Nets due to an illness. He’s really the only true PG on the roster, so those duties will likely be left in the hands of Dwyane Wade and Josh Richardson, both of whom are solid GPP targets tonight. Wade’s playing time has been spotty of late which makes him a tough sell as a cash game option, but Dragic’s absence should lead to more minutes and an increased usage rate. Richardson is a borderline cash game option at this point, but would become a stronger play if he enters the starting lineup despite his usage rate dropping in that event. We’ll update you on the Heat starting five when we have more information.
As reported by: Ira Winderman Other tagged players: Josh Richardson, Dwyane Wade Ricky Rubio is in a great spot vs. weak Suns defense
The Suns hate to play defense, especially out on the perimeter against dominant PGs and SGs. This bodes well for the likes of Zach LaVine, Andrew Wiggins, and especially Ricky Rubio. The Suns are 29th in DvP vs. PGs over the course of the season, and Rubio should be able to tear their guards up. Rubio is a guy that gets a ton of fantasy points from assists, so his fantasy total is really dependent on whether or not he scores the ball. Over the last ten games Rubio has eight games in which he has scored double figures, and in seven of those he was able to hit at least 5x value including three 50 DK point performances. This will be a very up-tempo game in which a lot of points will be scored (Minnesota’s implied team total is at 113), so it should be easier for Rubio to reach double digit points when there are few more shots to go around. These two teams played each other two weeks ago and Rubio finished with 13 points and 17 assists to go along with 4 steals for a total of 50.75 DK points. He is a very safe cash game play and has 50-point upside for tournaments at his $6,900 (DK) price tag.
Darren Collison will see a significant bump with plethora of Kings players ruled out
The Kings have ruled out their three top players in DeMarcus Cousins, Rudy Gay, and Rajon Rondo, and their likely replacements in the starting lineup will be Quincy Acy, Omri Casspi, and Seth Curry respectively (Marco Belinelli has also been ruled out). Obviously this leaves a ton of usage to go around and now Darren Collison will likely take charge of leading their offense. Credit to Adam Levitan on Twitter for this stat, but in four games that Rondo has missed this year, Collison is averaging 36.4 DK points per game and that is with Gay and Cousins both playing. With Gay, Cousins, and Belinelli all out for this one, we would only expect that number to increase as there is a lot more usage up for grabs. In fact, looking at our RotoGrinders’ CourtIQ tool we can see that when all four of these players off the court, Collison sees his usage jump from 20% to 28% and his fantasy points per minute go from 0.76 to 1.08. Pretty much any of the Kings’ starters are viable options, but Collison will be the one to lead the charge on the offensive end.
As reported by: RotoGrinders CourtIQ Jerami Grant, Richaun Holmes, and Nerlens Noel all questionable for Tuesday
Jerami Grant exited last night’s game due to a quad injury, his status for Tuesday is in question. Robert Covington made the most of Grant’s departure, putting up 34.8 DKFP against the Warriors. Covington is averaging 34.63 fpts over his last three games, making him a viable mid-range option on a six-game slate. Richaun Holmes has been dealing with a sore Achilles for some time now and has missed seven of his last nine games. Holmes is not likely to play against the Hornets but has also been listed as questionable. Nerlens Noel has missed three consecutive games due to a sore knee and has been replaced by Carl Landry in the starting lineup. In the three games that Landry has started, he is averaging 26.6 fpts. Landry is a viable punt option but has not crossed the 25-minute mark.
As reported by: Rick Bonnell Other tagged players: Richaun Holmes, Nerlens Noel, Robert Covington, Carl Landry Chris Kaman (illness) ruled out for Monday
Chris Kaman has been ruled out of Monday’s contest against the Kings. Kaman has not played the last four games so his absence is not earth-shattering news. With Kaman out of the lineup Cliff Alexander and Luis Montero might get some playing time. Both are minimum priced players across the industry and are not DFS relevant at this time. Look for Ed Davis to continue his recent hot play against the Kings. Davis is averaging 29.88 DKFP over his last five games, making for a strong punt option against the Kings B-Team.
As reported by: Casey Holdahl Other tagged players: Ed Davis Ed Davis benefits from DeMarcus Cousins sidelined
Welcome to late March in NBA DFS where Ed Davis has consistently been an elite option over the past two weeks. We wrote him up a few days ago vs. the Clippers, but he is still only $4,200 on DraftKings and $4,600 on FanDuel. With Myers Leonard out for a little while longer, Davis will continue to see the floor in the Blazers’ front court. Davis is averaging 30 DK points over his last six games, which means he could easily 7x or 8x his cheap price tag vs. the Kings especially on DraftKings. With DeMarcus Cousins now ruled out for the Kings, this is huge news for players like Davis who benefit by 1) not having to deal with Boogie on offense and 2) will hopefully help him stay out of foul trouble as Cousins draws an absurd, league-leading 9 fouls per game against his opponent. You know it’s late in the year when Ed Davis is an elite cash game option, but he is in a great spot to crush his cheap price tag yet again.
Brandon Rush probable for Tuesday
Rush isn’t a DFS option with Andrew Bogut healthy, and he should be expected to see his normal 14-18 minutes of court time on Tuesday. There aren’t any noteworthy DFS implications here.
As reported by: Monte Poole
Marco Belinelli (sore right foot) ruled out for Monday
Marco Belinelli will join Cousins, Rondo and Gay on the inactive list tonight against Portland. Seth Curry figures to be the biggest beneficiary while Ben McLemore and James Anderson are also candidates to see increased run. Collison, Cauley-Stein and Koufos are the three top targets on the Kings side.
As reported by: @SacramentoKings Other tagged players: Seth Curry DeMarcus Cousins, Rajon Rondo, Rudy Gay (rest) all ruled out for Monday
The Kings will be resting DeMarcus Cousins, Rajon Rondo and Rudy Gay tonight against the Blazers, while Marco Belinelli will also sit with a sore right foot. It’ll be the Kings B-Team taking the court in Portland, which doesn’t bode well for the game staying close throughout (the line now sits at POR -13). While this makes the Blazers a more risky team to target, there is now substantial value available on the Sacramento side. Darren Collison, Willie Cauley-Stein and Kosta Koufos are all playable in any format, while Omri Casspi and Seth Curry are better utilized as tournament options.
As reported by: @SacramentoKings Other tagged players: Rajon Rondo, Rudy Gay Nick Young ruled out for Monday
Young has been active of late but hasn’t played (DNP-CD) in the Lakers last eight games. This news has no DFS implications.
As reported by: Mike Trudell Iman Shumpert misses today's practice, uncertain for tomorrow
Shumpert wasn’t able to practice today and his status for tomorrow remains uncertain. If he’s unable to go, Richard Jefferson would almost certainly start at SF in place of LeBron and his playing time would be much more secure. We should have more information on Shumpert after tomorrow’s shootaround.
As reported by: Chris Fedor Other tagged players: Richard Jefferson Thabo Sefolosha questionable for Monday
Sefolosha didn’t play in the Hawks last game and is now on the injury report listed as questionable for tonight. Kent Bazemore saw a full allotment of minutes on Saturday and would figure to see similar court time tonight if Sefolosha isn’t able to suit up. Tim Hardaway Jr. would also figure to see a small bump in playing time.
As reported by: K.L. Chouinard Other tagged players: Kent Bazemore LeBron James will rest Tuesday against the Rockets
LeBron won’t take the court tomorrow against the Rockets in order to rest. This makes both Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love elite targets against a fast-paced Rockets team that doesn’t defend either the PG or PF spots very well. Both Irving and Love will see notable bumps in usage and each will be playable in any format. Richard Jefferson is likely to start in LeBron’s place, but the Cavs could also opt to go with Iman Shumpert (questionable for tomorrow) if he’s able to play. Shumpert’s presence in the starting five would seem to make sense given that he could be tasked with shadowing James Harden early on. We’ll update this situation again tomorrow.
As reported by: Dave McMenamin Other tagged players: Kevin Love, Kyrie Irving, Richard Jefferson